Music Staff

Philip Barnes, Director of Music

Recognized by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as ‘Best Choral Conductor’, Philip has established an enviable reputation for choir training and programming through his work with the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus. He has conducted this professional ensemble since 1989, and has earned numerous plaudits locally, nationally and internationally for his direction. His work may be heard on more than a dozen compact discs, most recently on the Regent (UK) label. His commentary may be heard on Re-Quired Listening, a selection of great choral and vocal music, broadcast weekly on the Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis (107.3 FM and online). As a singer he appeared on many commercial recordings in both the USA and England, where he spent his formative years as a boy chorister and later adult member of various cathedral and chapel choirs.

Philip has sung, conducted, and lectured on a wide range of subjects in Europe and North America. Many of these presentations have examined the intersection of music and classical literature, which reflects his training not only as a musician but also as a classicist; the latter he employs as a member of the Latin & Greek Department of John Burroughs School, where he was the first holder of the Johnston Endowed Chair in Classics.

Philip holds degrees and postgraduate certificates from the universities of Bristol and Manchester (UK), and King’s College, London. He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is married to a lifelong member of Third Baptist, Rachael, with whom he has two children, Eliot & Sylvia. He has yet to convert any of their household to the glories of unaccompanied choral music, but one of their cats is showing signs of acceptance.

Brent Johnson, Organist

Brent Johnson came to Third Baptist Church in 2004 while working as a technician for the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois. He started there in 1998 after studying organ with Robert T. Anderson at the Meadows School of the Arts and Kenneth G. Hart at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. While at SMU he also performed with the Meadows Percussion Ensemble and was a member and Drum Major of the Mustang Band. His work with Wicks took him across the country tuning, repairing, and installing pipe organs. He is currently responsible for the care of the recently rebuilt & enlarged 72-rank instrument at Third Baptist, and does freelance organ work around St. Louis. Brent also coordinates the Friday Pipes organ recital series, Third Baptist’s weekly free recital series given noontime throughout much of year (excluding June – August), and brings artists from around the country and the world to play the sanctuary organ. Brent teaches piano, organ, and percussion through the CityArts program at Third Baptist. As an arranger and music director he has worked in many different fields of classical, church, and pop music, but has always returned to the organ.

In addition to his work at Third, Brent is a founding member of the non-profit Organ Media Foundation. There he oversees web development and production of the Internet audio stations Organlive and Positively Baroque, and The Organ Experience. Brent is also responsible for the production and recording of the radio show “The King of Instruments” heard weekly on the Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis (107.3FM and online). In 2017, he was awarded the Avis Blewett Award by the St. Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, presented to “those who have made a significant contribution to the musical life of the Saint Louis area.”

Brent counts woodworking among his hobbies, and he is on the board of the Show-Me Woodturners in Festus, Missouri. He also serves as a volunteer for the Animal House shelter in St. Louis. He and his wife Carrie Bradfield are completing the restoration of a historic house in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis.

Lansin Lim Kimler, Pianist

Lansin Kimler came to the USA from Singapore to study piano with Ruth Slenczynska at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) in 1997, where she obtained an undergraduate and master’s degree in music performance. Since graduation she has taught and performed widely, both in Southern Illinois and St. Louis.

Lansin joined the music staff at TBC in October 2011, and in 2017 was appointed accompanist to the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, following experience with the SIUE Choral Society (dir., Dr. Joel Knapp). Lansin also plays for the Suzuki String Program at the Community Music School at Webster University, and has her own teaching practice for children, 6 years and above. She and her husband and son live in Overland, MO.

About TBC

We're in the heart of Grand Center, the exciting arts, entertainment, and education district. Nearby is the Loft District that attracts residents from young singles to retirees. We'd love for you to worship with us, connect with us, and serve with us. Stop by, you're always welcome.